Frenchman back on top in Silverstone Romain Grosjean has topped the time sheets this morning in free practice at Silverstone, claiming the position by two tenths from Andreas Zuber and Karun Chandhok.

The Frenchman's time of 1:26.808  set  the  cat  among  the  pigeons  early  in  the  session,  but  his  rivals  had  no  reply  in  the cool, overcast conditions that descended on the famous circuit. With  gusts  of  wind  picking  up  at  the  start  of  the  session  everyone  was  on  track  as  soon  as possible  to  make  sure  they  gained  some  data  in  case  of  rain,  but  Nico  Hülkenberg  was  soon walking back to the pits after stopping at Copse on his first flying lap after suffering a mechanical gremlin.

 Local resident Chandhok and Zuber were swapping places at the top of the time sheets until Grosjean set his best lap just ten minutes in, and the stage was set for a huge fight. Zuber was pushing for more but had a big moment at Beckets, losing his bargeboards during a wild ride across the grass before limping back to the pits, and when Pastor Maldonado hit the wall at  Copse  a  minute  later  the  subsequent  yellow  flags  brought  everyone  back  to  the  pits  for  a breather and a new set of tyres.

Unfortunately the temperature dropped at that stage and improvements were unlikely, and when Sergio Perez spun to a halt with a few minutes remaining in the session the red flags were soon waving  and  the  session  was  over.  Behind  the  top  three  were  Lucas  di  Grassi,  Alvaro  Parente, Maldonado, Javier Villa and Vitaly Petrov, all of whom will have one eye on the sky and the other on their rivals in this afternoon's qualifying session.

Silverstone – Free Practice

Driver Team Time Laps

1. Romain Grosjean Barwa Addax Team 1:26.808 12

2. Andreas Zuber FMSI 1:27.025 7

3. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:27.315 13

4. Lucas di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:27.377 14

5. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 1:27.425 15

6. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:27.514 8

7. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:27.545 11

8. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax Team 1:27.675 12

9. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:28.109 15

10. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:28.295 12

11. Jérôme d’Ambrosio DAMS 1:28.309 15

12. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:28.361 14

13. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:28.468 16

14. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:28.486 15

15. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:28.551 13

16. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 1:28.619 13

17. Giedo van der Garde iSport International 1:28.639 13

18. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:28.662 16

19. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:29.068 15

20 Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:29.190 15

21. Michael Herck DPR 1:29.218 15

22. Luiz Razia FMSI 1:29.375 13

23. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:29.423 15

24. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:30.268 15

25 Ricardo Teixeira Trident Racing 1:31.401 15

 26. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix --